Check out new U2 DVD

You’re bummed. You had tickets to tonight’s (June 16) U2 concert at Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum, and then Bono had to go and injure his back. So now you’re sitting in front of the television and wondering how you’re going to spend your Wednesday night. You vacation day is un-refundable, after all.

Here’s a suggestion: Go and buy the recently released concert video, “U2 360″ at the Rose Bowl, which was filmed and broadcast live on YouTube on Oct. 25, 2009 .

Here’s a short primer on the film, which I (Roman) decided to review with fellow uber-fan Laura Paul, from South New Jersey . Between the two of us, we have seen U2 live more than 70 times, and own all their other video performances. Who better to walk you through the Pasadena show than us?

The last two U2 video releases, from the Elevation and Vertigo tours, are the band’s weakest. Filmed inside arenas, the footage is too dark and blurry. And the split-second cuts made us dizzy. The 360 film is one of the better recent U2 productions. We were able to watch Bono, the Edge, Adam Clayton and Larry Mullen Jr. perform rather than try to keep up with everything on the screen in two-second intervals.

The sound is clear and the images are sharp. Great camera work creates action even when the musicians are stationary. Unlike the previous two outputs there is little blurriness. And many of the highlights are the new songs from “No Line on the Horizon.”

The downside is that the concert on the DVD is not factually accurate. The Pasadena show (like most others) opened with “Breathe,” off the band’s most recent album “No Line on the Horizon.” The film opens with the band members walking onto the stage and then cuts to the second song, “Get On Your Boots.” “Breathe” is nowhere to be found (unless you bought one of the deluxe editions of the film, where it is an extra).

“I wish it was there,” Laura says. I agree. The DVD should be a historical document of a concert, not a correction after the fact. U2 is known for making decisions such as this and cutting songs that for many are a highlight. What if “Breathe” was the song you wanted to watch on the DVD?

The spectacle of the “Claw,” the giant four-legged centerpiece surrounding the stage, shines in all its glory for the first time a few songs into the concert, during “Beautiful Day.” Laura and I have seen the tune performed dozens of times. On the DVD the band plays it with more gusto than ever.

“(Bono) puts everything into that show because it’s being filmed,” Laura says. “Why can’t he do that every show?” Maybe he’s had a hurting back longer than we’ve been told?

During “No Line on the Horizon,” which the two of us think is a great live song, we can tell the audience does not appear to agree with us. Thousands of people are standing still.

“That’s a song I jump around to,” Laura says. I concur. The audience appears flat at other times. I think we are starting to get older along with the band.

For both Laura and me, one of the highlights at the live shows was “Unknown Caller.”

From the bird call intro recorded in Morocco to the declaration of identity sing-along (“ Los Angeles , you know your name, so punch it in!”), the song was also strong on the DVD .

During “Unforgettable Fire,” off 1984’s album of the same name, the saddle-shaped circular screen that has to this point sat perched above the band expands nearly all the way to the stage floor, shooting off cosmic reds and purples as the band performs one of it’s best early songs. No matter how many times we see it played live, we won’t get tired of it.

“It’s pretty!” Laura says “And I’m jealous he actually remembered the lyrics to the song at that concert.” He lost his place during that song at several concerts that Laura attended

Then there is “I’ll Go Crazy if I Don’t Go Crazy Tonight.” The song, as it appears on the new album, is beautifully melodic. Live, it is a different beast. Performed in a remix format that would have melded right in on the Popmart tour of the late ‘90s, it turns a stadium into a discotheque. Enjoy it on the DVD , but then pray the song stays survives the year and makes it to the Bay Area next spring or summer. It’s even better in person.

After a brief interlude where those in attendance are introduced to imprisoned Burmese leader Aung San Suu Kyi, and “All That You Can’t :Leave Behind” tune “Walk On” dedicated to her, the set list turns to “One” and “With Or Without You.”

These songs are staples for the band and we again talk about the exclusion of “Breathe” on the DVD. I feel that if any one song was to get cut, it should be “One.” She holds the same opinion on “With or Without You.” They are two of the band’s most popular songs, and the fans who only go to one show will want to hear them, but they are starting to get repetitive on the concert films.

Luckily, the next bit is the best moment of the show: “Where the Streets Have No Name.” U2 fans everywhere agree it rightfully deserves a place at every U2 concert.

“It’s Abso-freaking-lutely the best U2 live song,” Laura says. On the 360 tour, “Amazing Grace” provides a touching intro.

Although it’s not the show closer, “Ultraviolet (Light My Way)” off “Achtung Baby,” is the Claw’s last big bang. In the spectacle Bono wears a leather jacket that shoots laser beams through plumes of smoke and swings from a lowered lit-up steering wheel-shaped microphone. Enjoy this moment on the DVD , because with Bono’s serious back problems, it will probably not be replicated when U2 returns here.

Extras: A solid “making-of” documentary titled “Squaring the Circle” that shows the development of the tour from sketches in a notepad to the final product, and numerous short featurettes with video from various shows that will only appeal to the fans that attended those shows. Laura and I came to this conclusion when I intently watched the clip from the Chicago tour opener while she turned her attention to updating her Facebook status; and when I ignored the clip from the Dublin concerts, which she thought was interesting.

The DVD is available online and in store in various DVD (and BluRay) formats, ranging from about $15 to $130).

Jim Harrington

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